BOYLE - Two additional cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Boyle area last week, bringing the total number of infections in the Athabasca region since the pandemic was declared to four.
The new cases were announced July 13, soon after Alberta's chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw told a press conference 230 new cases had been discovered in the province over the previous weekend.
The geospatial map, provided by the Government of Alberta on its COVID information page on its website shows two cases reported and recovered in the Athabasca region, but when one changes options from municipality to local geographic area, the Boyle area shows two active cases.
Boyle mayor Colin Derko said he heard about the new cases through a relative that day and went about trying to find some answers for himself and eventually learned the cases were actually outside the village limits in Athabasca County, but couldn’t provide many more details.
His first thought, he said was the safety of the village as a whole and a notice was immediately posted on the village website.
“The safety of the village was automatically my concern, and that’s not just from being the mayor, that comes from living here my whole life. Then I thought of the seniors. Boyle is known for cherishing its seniors and I just hoped it wasn’t something that got into our (Wildrose) Villa,” he said.
He said the village is still following provincial recommendations when it comes to precautions and council will soon pass its own pandemic plan. In the meantime, and staying on the province’s re-opening timeline, village council also voted to rescind two previous motions at its July 15 meeting that closed the municipal office and limited the number of campers in local campgrounds to 50 per cent.
“What we’ve done from Day 1 is follow the provincial regulations, so we’ve been waiting for what the province says to do, and we’ve been doing it,” said Derko. “I think it would be silly to go against what the province says.”
During the press conference, Dr. Hinshaw added there are more cases from unknown sources reported than there were a week ago and that active cases were still rising every day.
The update to the geospatial map, showing the new Boyle cases, came online by mid-afternoon that day.
“I am strongly recommending that all of us wear masks anytime we are out and can’t maintain a two-metre distance from others, especially in indoor spaces,” she said.
During that same press conference on July 13, health minister Tyler Shandro also announced 20 million more non-medical masks would be distributed through fast food restaurants. Masks will also be available at First Nations and Métis settlements, courthouses, libraries, places of worship, social service organizations and senior care facilities, along with transit stations in Edmonton, Calgary and Red Deer.
As of Sunday July 19, Alberta had 859 known active COVID-19 cases, with 68 people hospitalized including 13 in intensive care. There have been 167 deaths in the province as a result of the virus, the majority of which were individuals in their 80s.
About 576,000 tests have been conducted in the province, with 9,219 positive cases confirmed. More than 8,800 people have died in Canada as a result of the virus.
Officials have been urging people to wear masks in indoor spaces and to distance themselves from others whenever possible so as to slow the rate of infection, and that seemed to help to flatten the curve, but a second wave has been expected, even as many disregard the warnings from health officials.
During the same press conference Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said he is often asked about making masks mandatory, but quoted Hinshaw as saying, "We can't enforce our way out of the pandemic.
"The vast majority of Albertans, I don't think, need to be told to do the right thing," he added.
Chris Zwick, TownandCountryToday.com
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